Case Study – Four restaurants and a bar

Case Study – Four restaurants and a bar
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HM Network turns the San Marco Group Purple

The San Marco Group is a well-respected chain of four Italian restaurants and a bar, which are located in Preston, Lancashire. Not only does the San Marco Group deliver first class food and drink, but they also clearly demonstrate superior service to their customers. The restaurants cater for groups of all sizes and customers of all ages; something that is echoed in the group’s analytics within the Purple Portal.

Due to their locations, some of the venues suffer from problematic mobile coverage. Trattoria San Marco and The Italian Orchard are both set in scenic, rural locations surrounded by greenery. Stratos is a vibrant town centre bar but the street it’s located on doesn’t get a good phone signal. Location and easy access were certainly a big consideration when San Marco Group chose to install Purple WiFi at their venues. Having Purple WiFi installed at each of the venues means that San Marco Group can still offer a safe, family friendly secure internet connection even when the mobile phone networks cannot provide service.

Carlo Bragagnini, one of the owners of San Marco Group, said: “The installation of Purple WiFi at our venues has been a key step in understanding our customers and improving their overall experience when they visit us. Using the analytics available in the Purple Portal, we now know that more than half of our visitors are male and a quarter are between the age of 18-25. This means that we’ve been able to tailor our marketing accordingly with offers specific to these demographics. We also know a large number of our WiFi users login using Facebook, so we’ve been able to increase engagement on our own page and create a strategy to market our offers on this social network. It’s also reassuring to know that if a customer doesn’t wish to like the page for access or share where they are they have options to say no thanks or login using the short form.”

By logging in to the WiFi at a San Marco Group venue, business people can enjoy working lunches, whilst customers can communicate with friends and family using social media and messaging apps such as Facebook and Whatsapp. The service also allows guests to check in at a venue to tell friends where they are or that they have arrived. Being able to identify new versus repeat customers is a very powerful tool indeed, allowing San Marco Group to tailor their marketing campaigns effectively.

HM Networks’ Social WiFi division, powered by Purple WiFi) is working with San Marco Group’s owner, Carlo Bragagnini, on creating a new digital strategy to help them connect even more with their guests and reach new audiences. San Marco Group understands that engaging with customers is vital and allows them to gain valuable feedback which will help shape the way the businesses operate moving forward. Having access to website type analytics for their bricks and mortar premises through Purple WiFi sets the San Marco group apart from other local businesses – and this is reflected by the high number of people visiting the restaurants and bar.

Chris Hunter, one of the directors at HM Network, commented: “Carlo had tasked us with finding a suitable guest WiFi solution for his business. He had seen a few options already but they were often very expensive to setup and lacked the features that he wanted. When he saw what Purple WiFi could offer it ticked all of his boxes and plenty more too. Social media integration was a major factor in the final decision. Using TP link routers flashed with Purple’s firmware, San Marco Group were able to get a cost effective solution across the estate without initial massive outlay or running costs.”

Gavin Wheeldon, CEO of Purple WiFi, added: “We are really pleased with the San Marco Group installation. It’s also great to see that the owners are already using the data to get results. I am confident that Purple WiFi will really make a difference to their business. We look forward to working on many more projects like this one with HM Network in future.”

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